Boardman CX Owners Thread

My brakes do it too, but a lot less than the £500 of Avid XX brakes on a Whyte 146 i demoed

Not sure what you can do about it tbh, just make sure pads and rotors are clean.

My headset was a little loose out of the box, but was fine for tightening the headset screw.

It was subtle loose, if you picked up the bike on frame behind front fork you could feel the wheel pull with a 'tick' as u took weight off.

Loosen then re tighten the headset screw on the crown of the fork stem.

Could be a similar problem to this: http://www.lfgss.com/thread59962-7.html#post2257034

What are you offering for the Apex? I have been thinking about changing to 105, front mech is not apex though.

My headset was loose too, but have tightened it but still feels like some think is not right over bumps etc

I haven't looked at the hubs but, further to my brake problem, Halfords checked everything was set correctly, replaced the pads and disc and the problem was still there. They replaced the wheel and the problem was solved. I think that under heavy breaking it was the hub was making the noise/vibration.

I have to subscribe myself to this thread, as I've got myself one for the grand price of £688.50, thanks to the sale, British Cycling and NUS* discounts. For a bike like this, that's an incredible price.

I collected it boxed and have taken it to my LBS to get it assembled, the BB greased and the steerer bung checked. I've picked up some BB7 brakes for £60 each price matched through Evans which they'll install, along with a set of SKS Chromoplastic guards and a rack. I've got 28mm Gatorskins waiting at the the post office, which I'll pop on when I collect it on Saturday.

Hopefully having a decent mechanic do the first setup and checkover will ensure that some of the issues will be avoided, and I won't be back on here with too many strange crunching noises.

*Not a student, but they didn't ask for any proof

I bought mine through C2W just before Christmas. As I run the scheme I went into one of my local stores and secured a 'deal' with them for myself and everyone else who took up on the scheme. I spent £1000 but what I received the following:

CX £999.99
Apollo Haze £139
Garmin forerunner 305 £150
Helmet £30
Rack £32
Mudguards x2 £60
Computer mount £25
Pedals £15
Saddle £30

If my calculations are correct, that brings my cx to around £519!

Sounds like the same as the fellow on the previous page, who I pointed here, although the answer there is in relatively techie language:

lardboy wrote:

Could be a similar problem to this: http://www.lfgss.com/thread59962-7.html#post2257034

Most likely, the fork bung is loose. This is probably a bike shop job, as you will need a torque wrench to make sure that it's all tightened to the correct amount, and that there's no damage to the headset. I wouldn't take it to Halfords, I'd take it to any other LBS who will be more used to dealing with carbon fibre instead of just doing stuff up tight. It should be a 5 minute job.

In case you were wondering, the "disc" is the top cap.

bails87 wrote:

Just tightening the top cap without loosening the stem bolts will do nothing, BTW.

To tighten the headset you loosen the two bolts that hold the stem onto the steerer, adjust the top cap bolt to preload the headset bearings, then tighten the stem bolts.

Do I need a torque allen key? Or hand tight?

Hello folks, time to stop lurking. Some very useful info here. Had a CX since September, very pleased. Commuter and winter trainer, guards n rack fitted, so a solid lump, but rolls nice on michy 25mm Krylion carbons. Found the 32t cassette too gappy for general stuff, so came down to a 28t, now a 26t as CRC had them in sale. Seems spot on, and forces the use of that funny little ring up front at times, rather than grinding away in the big'un and mashing the knees.

I also had a few punctures early on, found to be rim tape badly seated over off centered spoke holes, so id recommend ditching them asap, sticky cloth tape does the job nice. Brakes settled down early on, took delivery of bike in a box, but found they set up ok with some fiddling.

Im not 100% convinced on the shifters, yes solid but hand hold feels not right for me and the change is heavy. Have shimano on other cross bike but prefer campy levers, and so thinking of ditching them for campy 10's, probably needing a cable widget to keep cable travel right. Anyone any experience of doing this? I dont want to go the chew and expense of changing more than shifters, but did wonder if the mech is in part responsible for the heavy gear change, and its handy to leave on for when the 32t goes back on for manky big hills. Ill report back if i take the plunge.

Also had some problems with headset loosening, I swapped a spacer out and put on top of stem, been no bother since.

I have been riding my road bike for the last 5 days, as the headset is fecked at the moment and not had a chance to get it to someone to sort out. The last 5 days have convinced me that it was not the answer to winter commuting and I am pretty confident it will be on eBay by this time next week. The advantages were mudguards (going to give the crudcatcher a go on the road bike) and disc brakes. To be honest a week back on the road bike and I am back used to allowing more braking distance, and if I really yank on they are effective even in the wet. So really for commuting I really only need something that stops my 'arris from getting soaked

Schwalbe Marathon/Marathon plus and Conti Gatorskins are the usual recommendations.

I've got 25mms, but go for something a bit bigger for more comfort.

EDIT: Does anyone know the wheel weight? I haven't got any scales!